


Uzushio Rising

by Castled_Rook



Series: Children of Uzushio [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Chakra Sensor Uzumaki Karin, Fuuinjutsu, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Karin, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Gen, Not drabbles anymore, Rebuilt Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village, Started off as drabbles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:33:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29104125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castled_Rook/pseuds/Castled_Rook
Summary: Stasis seals aren't supposed to work on living beings. Living beings need air, food and water to survive. However, seals have always worked oddly for members of the  Uzumaki clan, especially within Uzushio itself, and the stasis seal that the Arashikage activates when Uzushio falls is no different.When a young Uzumaki Karin, following the call of her clan's home land breaks the stasis seal placed on the village, the world learns that Uzushio and her shinobi are not as gone as everyone had believed.Started as a series of drabbles following Karin and the rebirth of Uzushiogakure no Sota.
Series: Children of Uzushio [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197650
Comments: 76
Kudos: 93





	1. Fall

**Fall**

Uzushio was burning. The cries of her people echoing in the smoke-filled air. There had been no stopping the invaders. Not by the whirlpools for which the village was named. Not by the barrier, created from seals designed and altered and improved over the course of 3 generations. Not the tall walls, reinforced with seal script after seal script which marked the traditional rite of passage for each Arashikage.

Three weeks. 

Three long, long weeks of fighting. First against the ships out on the swirling water. Then against the ships as they docked upon the rocky shore. Then against the enemy shinobi before the village’s very walls.

You see, Uzushio was a small village, especially when compared to her sister village of Konohagakura. Yet still she and hers were feared. Feared to the point where it wasn’t just one other village that had sent their forces to bring her to her knees. No, it had taken the combined forces of Kumogakura, Kirigakura and Kusagakura to break the village.

Still yet, Uzushio’s children proved their strength. When the invading force reached the shore, steps to ensure their survival were taken:

First, 3 messengers were sent out. Carrying a call for aid for Konoha. The messengers never made it to Hi no Kuni. The first was killed over the water. The second died just beyond the shore. The third fell all of a foot from the border.

Second, transportation seals were drawn and more than one Uzumaki Jonin died, draining every scrap of their chakra to open the way for the civilians to escape to the mainland.

Third, the Sandaime Arashikage, Ishikawa Genki, selected a successor before throwing himself headlong into the fight. He fell before the eastern gates of the village, having wiped out a third of the remaining invaders single handedly.

Finally, the newly appointed Yondaime Arashikage began the process to activate the village wide stasis seal. It would preserve what remained of the village by freezing everything within range of the seal in place. It would also keep the invading force and any future looters from stripping the place, and taking anything. However, the seal would also freeze anything living within it. Preventing them from eating, drinking or even drawing breath. The invaders would die. But so too would the last of Uzushio’s protectors, which would include her last Kage.

In the end, the choice was an easy one. At least in some way, Uzushio would survive.


	2. Loss

**Loss**

Karin did not remember her father. He died when she was still too small to remember but her mother would tell her stories of him. Of how his smile, rare on the normally solemn man, had taken up half his face the first time he had seen her. How she would always struggle to fall asleep unless she was laying on his chest. How he was a strong shinobi who had protected them until his last breath had been robbed from his body. She got her eyes, red as her hair, from him.

Her mother looked much like her. Bright red hair vs her father’s soft bronze, and eyes the colour of the sea. Mother taught her that their red hair was a mark of their clan. That long ago, their hair was white as freshly fallen snow but it became stained by the blood of their fallen loved ones as they wept over their bodies. That they swore upon their now red hair that never again. Never again would they stand idly by when those they loved were threatened. And so they learned to be strong.

It was her mother who raised her. Who was there when she woke in the night from nightmares. Who first showed her how to access her chakra. To shape it into the powerful chains that their clan had been known for. Who taught her the basics of sealing. How to read the elegant script, how to put chakra into ink and how to shape it into the simplest of the storage seals.

Karin did not remember her father. Did not mourn him when she was old enough to understand why she did not have a father when others did. She mourned the idea of a father, but not the man himself. She remembered her mother. Her mother who loved her. Raised her. Taught her. And who had died giving every scrap of chakra she had to save the injured people of Kusagakura. And so, it was her mother who she mourned. And a part of her would always hate Kusa for their part in her death. For burying her in the ground when she should have been returned to Sea and Fire.

But maybe, there was an echo to the east. Something was calling her Home, had been for more than a year now. Maybe it was time to answer.


	3. Following the Echoes

**Following the Echoes**

I’m coming home,

I’m coming home,

Tell the world I’m coming home.

Coming Home by Dirty Money

There is an echo of chakra to the east. It’s faint. Like a dull star. But there is a song in it and the song is strong. The sound of waves upon a shore, the thunder of an early spring rain, the crackle of campfire and the joyous laughter of children at play. Mother had told her that the echo was the remnants of the chakra that the people of Uzushio had sunk into the island over the course of generations.

From the seal work that was laced throughout every part of her by the Uzumaki Clan. To the metal beams, nails and hinges, tempered but the flames of the Hino Clan. From stones that had been pulled from the sea and shaped by the Ishikawa clan. To the great river that ran through the village, guided to its path by the combined work of the Hoshikawa and Izumi clans. They say even her shadows had chakra sunk into them by Uzushio’s Kageno clan.

And it was faint, oh so faint. Left abandoned for decades now. But it was calling her. Calling her Home. And she had nothing left. No where else but a village that had already claimed her mother. But maybe, there was something for her there. In the ruins of a village her clan once called Home.

And so, she gathered up all she had left from her mother. Her scroll of sealing supplies. Her inks and brushes. The pair of ornate hairpins, cherry wood carved and painted to look like waves and seafoam, that had once been her grandmothers. A pair of thin, dark framed glasses, a memory of a man she had never had a chance to know. A pouch half filled with kunai and shuriken. She gathered up and packed all the other supplies she would need for the journey and sealed them in a storage scroll, the last she had made under her mother’s watchful eye, before setting out. Following that echo, that call of Home, east towards the rising of the sun.

Karin followed it. Out from the flat, stretching grasslands of Kusa no Kuni. Through the vast, forested stretches of Hi no Kuni. The tall Hashirama trees offering her shelter and a place to sleep at night amidst their branches. Putting every bit of training her mother had drilled into her into practice. Avoiding the shining chakras of trained shinobi. Hiding in the trees to avoid the dull signatures and loud footsteps of bandits. Hitching a ride here and there with merchants traveling in the same direction. Out from Hi no Kuni into Nami no Kuni. Across the water and through poor towns, the people downtrodden and oppressed by a local thug running a shipping company.

The further east she got, the stronger the echo became. She spent the last of her money to rent a boat that would take her as close to the island as it could without running afoul of the whirlpools that still churned the seas.

And there, after more than two months of travel, on the early morning horizon. Across the swirling water sat the island of Uzushio. The echoes of chakra sunk into her by her children, dancing against her own. Was Home.


	4. First Sight

_O chi, chi mi na morbheanna_   
_O chi, chi mi na corrbheanna_   
_O chi, chi mi na coireachan_   
_Chi mi na sgoran fo cheo_

_Oh I see, I see the great mountains_   
_Oh I see, I see the lofty mountains_   
_Oh I see, I see the corries_   
_I see the peaks under the mist_

Chi Mi Na Morbheanna by The Rankin Family

**First Sight**

In the days when she was whole, Uzushiogakura no Sota was a truly splendid sight to behold. Tall, spire-like buildings of white stone topped by bright red clay tile roofs surrounded winding red brick roads. A tall wall of white stone, painted the colour of sea foam and etched with complex seal script, encircled the entire village. Four wide, dark ebony wood bridges spanned across the Shinanai-Kawa river that cut through her center. At each of the cardinal directions, stood a gate, each painted and carved to match the direction they faced. 

To the north stood the Tortoise Gate. Its black lacquered wood carved into the pattern of a tortoise shell. This was the traveler’s gate and stood over the northern end of the river as it vanished into the hillside. Most who were looking to travel to and from Uzushio without having to fight the lines that sometimes formed at the western gate.

To the east stood the Dragon Gate. Its wood painted the same shade of blue as the sea and carved in the shape of a pair of rearing dragons. This gate was known as the sailor’s gate and overlooked Uzushio’s vast harbor.

To the south stood the Bird Gate. Its wood was painted the same shade of green as the leaves or a Hashirama tree. Carved into one side was a nesting crow and into the other was the image of a hawk taking flight. This was the shinobi gate and stood over the southern mouth of the river. There were many whirlpools outside the gate which prevented anyone but an Uzushio shinobi from traversing the waters.

To the west stood the Tiger Gate. Into its pale wood was carved the eyes of a tiger, forever keeping watch. This was the merchants gate. Anyone looking to do business or trade with Uzushio came through these gates. It was also the most visibly guarded.

Her streets were full of life and laughter. Stalls littered the market place and ships came and went from the harbor. Her shinobi moved across the rooftops and academy students and genin both played on the water in the harbor. From the central administration building situated upon a low hill across the river from the shinobi academy, the Arashikage watched over all of Uzushio and her children. Before the administration hall sits the central square and there are three round, polished pieces of sodalite upon pedestals. Into each is carved a name in the shape of a spiral. The names of the Arashikages.

The past three decades had not been kind to Uzushio. The abandoned ruins of the once shining city are what greet Karin when she arrives. A handful of bright red roofs, the same shade as her hair, still peak over the broken and crumbling wall. Its paint faded, showing salt crusted white stone. The only part that still holds its splendor are the gates themselves. Having shut tight when the final seal was activated.

Sorrow fills her. It hurts to see Home in such a state. Her walls should be strong, her buildings whole and her streets full of life and laughter. For a second she can see it as it would have been. The morning dawn making the whole village glow. The way the sunlight off the sea dances on the walls. Instead, the village before her is quiet. 

She pauses. The village is quiet. Far too quiet. Not even the sound of wild animals reach her from within. No call of birds, no sound of hoofs on stone from passing deer. Instead there is nothing but silence and the waves against the shore. Not only that, but there is a distinct lack of plant life. What buildings she can see should have begun to be reclaimed by nature after so long and be covered in moss. She checks the gates.


	5. Seal at the Gates

**Seal at the Gates**

There is a seal on each of the gates. Karin can barely see it against the dark lacquer of the Tortoise Gate, but it is clear to see on the pale wood of the Tiger Gate. At its core is a counter-clock wise spiral that is characteristic in any Uzumaki seal. A line of seal script begins a little above the spiral, widening into the rough shape of a triangle near the top of the spiral itself. The script at the top is then mirrored at the bottom of the spiral. Two lines of script lay in lines to the right and left of the spiral to complete the seal.

The seal is deceptively simple in design. And yet, she struggles to understand its purpose. From what her mother was able to teach her, she knows that it is meant to Hold something. To Keep as Was. Anything more is beyond her limited skills. It's also elegant. Full of curving lines broken up by sharp pauses. Balanced, symmetrical, which she remembers means it’s more stable and will hold longer as opposed to an unsymmetrical seal which will last less time but draw on more power. She wonders how much chakra the activator had to put into the seal before her for it to cover the entire village.

She may not be able to fully read the seal but what she can feel is the chakra in it. It’s  _ Wild _ and  _ Bright _ . Oh so Bright to her sense, like the sun at midday. It’s the sound of a  _ Storm-at-Sea _ . Of  _ Wrath _ and  _ Vengeance  _ and a  _ Cry-of-Denial _ . The feeling of  _ Lightning-in-the-Air-and-the Crashing-of-Waves-against-the-Shore _ . There is the faintest bit that has the feel of a  _ Warm-Summer’s-Breeze _ . The sound of a  _ Breath-Taken-to-Blow-out-a-Candle _ . It tells her that whoever drew the seal was not the one who activated it. Not only that but, the chakra of the creator and the activator had very different elemental natures.

A part of her knows she should not touch it. That she does not know fully what it does. But a larger part of her is called to it. Called to the chakra within. The chakra that tells her that the one who put this here was Clan. Was Kin.

Reaching out, she traces the edges of the seal. The elegant script going down both sides. Traces the spiral in the center. The very spiral that is only ever found in an Uzumaki seal. Mother had said that it could hold many meanings. That at its core, it drew in the nature chakra the seal needed to power it and redistributed it to the other parts of the seal.

Pain.

A sharp, small prick on the tip of her finger when she got to the center of the spiral. A sudden weight to the chakra in the seal as it took her blood. Judging her to see if she was a child of Uzushio. Then, Bright. So, so very Bright. Brighter than even before and so much lighter than the weight of a moment ago. _Lightning in Water_ and a deep sense of relief.

A flash. From the seal on each of the Gates. And then the seal splits in two as the Tiger Gate swings open. A rush of warm sea air as sound returns to the village before her.

And then, A flare of chakra against her own.

And another.

And another.

_~~She is not alone~~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a copy of the short prompt I wrote the inspired all of this
> 
> When her parents are cut down by a man with an orange mask, a young Uzumaki Karin follows the echo of chakra, the echo of Home that her mother told her about.
> 
> Follows it through Iron and Fire. Follows it through Water and Wave until she finds herself standing before the battered gates of that shining island city she had only heard about in childhood stories. Roof tops of bright red, the same shade as her hair, peak up above walls the colour of sea foam. There on the gate itself sits a seal. From what little she can remember her mother teaching her, she can tell that the seal is meant to preserve what ever lays behind it.
> 
> She reaches up to trace the edges of the seal, the echoes of the chakra of her Kin that still linger within it.
> 
> Then.
> 
> A sharp prick of pain as the seal takes a drop of her blood. A weight in the chakra echo as it judges her. Testing to see if she is a child of Uzushio, before the seal shines. Bright like the sun on the sea, the chakra now crackling like lightning in water before it fades.
> 
> The seal splits and the gates before her open and she is hit with a blast of warm sea breeze as Uzushio comes awake.
> 
> A pulse of chakra, bright and alive.
> 
> And another
> 
> And another
> 
> Until the chakra of almost 20 different people are bright against her own. For there were still people in Uzushio when her Kage sealed her. People who expected to die as they activated the cities last defense.
> 
> But Uzumaki have always made seals do odd things and this one is no different. For not only was the city itself preserved against its attackers and looters but its last defenders as well. And for the first time since the siege, they are awake. Uzushio has returned and is calling her children Home.


	6. Survivors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently these chapters are getting to long to be drabbles and I have no idea how it happened. The prompts I gave myself just kept having more and more to say?

**Survivors**

She counts them. One, two, five, eight, fourteen, twenty-two, thirty-one, thirty-seven. Thirty-seven chakra signatures. Shining and warm against her own. And they are vast and dense. Vast and Dense like her mother’s was. Vast and Dense like hers will one day be. There is no doubt in her mind that they are Clan and they are Alive.

She tries to memorize how they feel.  ~~_ How they sound. _ ~~ These are her Kin. Thought by the world to be gone  ~~_ but they are not, they are Here and she is not alone _ ~~ . And there is  _ Howling-wind-and-a-gentle-warm-breeze _ and  _ Lurking-in-the-Depths-and-Water-over-Stones _ .  _ Sun-Warmed-Earth-and-Footfalls-of-a-Dancer _ ,  _ Immovable-mountain-and-Clack-of-Metal-on-Stone _ and  _ Coolness-of-Shade-Beneath-a-Tree-and-Movement-in-the-Dark _ . 

The one that stands out the most is so very large and so very bright. It is the same  _ Lightning-in-Water-and-Thunder-and-Waves _ that was in the seal on the gates. It almost sparks against her own, makes her remember the feeling of dancing in the rain during a thunderstorm. It is immense and powerful. The last time she felt a chakra anywhere near this scale was when mother was requesting sanctuary from the Kusakage.

Thirty-seven. 

Thirty-seven of Uzushio’s defenders, her children survived. Somehow preserved by the seal drawn on her gates. Karin hesitates but for a moment before carefully making her way through the gates and into the wreckage of the village. Picking her way down red brick streets, past the broken white stone of fallen buildings.

She has to fight back a sob when she comes across the first body, that of a girl only a few years older than herself with orange hair kept at bay by an Uzushio Hitai-ate. Has to focus on the chakras she can feel against her own.  ~~_ Alive, Alive, Alive _ ~~ ~~.~~ Because it's been more than thirty years and her body looks as though she only died  _ yesterday _ .

She follows her chakra sense to the first signature she feels  hears . It belongs to a young boy, a few years younger than herself, with hair as red as her own, huddled in the shadow of a crumbling building. His untrained chakra is  _ Lights-on-the-River-and-the-Trickle-of-a-Small-Stream _ to her senses.

She smiles, small and soft, and takes his hand, it's so small in her own. Learns his name, Hoshikawa Ezume. His age, all of seven when he was trapped in the village during the invasion. Together they make their way to the next point of chakra.  ~~_ Alive, Alive, Alive _ ~~ ~~.~~ This time, it is a black haired woman with strikingly vivid emerald eyes, dressed in the uniform of a chunin. She places her chakra as  _ Coolness-of-Shade-Beneath-a-Tree-and-Movement-in-the-Dark _ that she felt  _ heard _ earlier and learns her name is Kageno Hisana.

One by one they meet with the other survivors, steadily making their way towards the center of the village. Finding Jonin Hino Ryuji  _ Falling-Autumn-Leaves-and-a-Whisper-on-the-Wind  _ and administrative shinobi Uzumaki  ~~_ Kin, this is her kin  _ ~~ Hiromi  _ Clear-Blue-Sky-and-the-Crying-of-Gulls.  _ Jonin Kubo Sabaro  _ Immovable-mountain-and-Clack-of-Metal-on-Stone  _ and Chunin Namiyo Ni  _ Lurking-in-the-Depths-and-Water-over-Stones. _

Other survivors have also been making their way slowly towards the central square. Picking their way through the rubble and ruins of their Home. Mourning over the dead they come across. The people they knew and loved.  ~~_ She's never met them, would have if things had been different, but a part of her loves them too.  _ ~~

There is a woman emerging from the administration building. The Kage’s Hall. Tall, with burning red hair and eyes the colour of winter ice.  _ Lightning-in-the-Water-and-Thunder-on-the-Waves.  _ In her hands is a battered hat bearing the kanji for  _ Storm _ . She is flanked by two others. A man with red hair and vivid emerald eyes,  _ Blood-on-the-Water-and-Wailing-in-the-Wind _ , and a woman with lavender hair and pale yellow eyes shaped like stars  _ Glowing-Red-Lava-and-the-Hiss-of-Steam.  _ Uzushio’s Arashikage and her Jonin commanders.

“How long” The Arashikage asks her. Her who they don’t recognize but never once doubt her place among them. Never doubt the fact that she is an Uzumaki. That she is  _ Clan _ .

“How long was the stasis seal in place” She is asked again

“Thirty-seven years” Karin answers. Answers her clansmen. Answers her Kage.  ~~_ One year for every survivor. Was this why she was called Home? How much longer would it have kept them Safe? _ ~~

Uzushio is not dead. Her children are not dead. Chakra hums beneath her feet and all around her.  ~~_ Alive. Alive. Alive. _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be ready for some feels in the next chapter. I have it about half finished so it should be up in the next few days.
> 
> Here's a bit of a preview:  
> “Uzumaki Yumi and Kanzaki Kishi” She hadn’t spoken their names in months. Hadn’t dared invoke their ghosts less they never find their way to the Pure Lands. But now they will. There are no bodies, but a pair of lanterns still join the fleet being carried out by the tide. Their names have been carved and spoken and there is Fire and Sea to guide them to their rest.


	7. Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are no graves in Uzushio, her mother tells her. There are no dead buried there. Their bodies are given back to Fire and Sea and only their names are remembered.
> 
> This one took a while. There was a lot to be said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have also gone back and edited the previous chapters a little. I figure out a better flow or details I want to add so they might be worth a reread.

_So fill to me the parting glass_   
_And drink a health whate'er befalls_   
_Then gently rise and softly call_   
_Good night and joy be to you all_

The Parting Glass by the High Kings

**Remembrance**

There are no graves in Uzushio, her mother tells her. There are no dead buried there. _~~Her mother, who Kusa buried in the ground. Kusa who denied her the proper rites~~._ Their bodies are given back to Fire and Sea and only their names are remembered. ~~_Like her father, who she doesn’t remember but who’s name she will never forget. Kanzaki Kishi._~~ Her mother tells her of eleven tall Obelisks carved from solid pieces of white azeztulite drawn up from the sea. “They sit to the left of the harbor as you exit the Dragon Gate. Right by where the sand meets the surf. When the sunlight hits them, it shines through the names carved there and they _glow_.”

Eleven Obelisks. Ten clans of Uzushio: Uzumaki, Hoshikawa, Ishikawa, Izumi, Kanzaki, Kawaguchi, Hino, Kubo, Mizumori and Kageno. And one for those without a clan or without a family to call their own. And yet, you will never see a clan or family name on any of the obelisks. 

“Listen well Karin.” Her mother tells her. “We may all be born of different clans when we are alive, but in death we are all one clan. One family” It’s from her mother that she learns that the only way to tell which clan a name belonged to in life was to know the clan’s colour. “Look to the base, where the Obelisk meets the sea and sand. At low tide you can see it. A single band of colour. It will tell you who the living kin are for the names that are carved there.”

Even standing there, in the central square before the Kage’s Hall. Surrounded by the survivors that Uzushio managed to protect, she can see them. The eleven tall white peaks to the east, just barely visible over the wall.

The Arashikage looks at them. Looks at her. Looks at the destruction around them and the dead that lay throughout Uzushio grief marring her features. “We survived. Somehow, by the grace of Uzushio, we survived. But so many of our friends and families didn’t. We will rebuild. We will call back those who were able to evacuate. But for now? For now we have dead that we must tend to. Who deserve to be finally returned to Fire and Sea after being denied the right for more than thirty fucking years ya.”

Another glance over those who had gathered. “Right. Chiyo, Kumi, Ran, Denki, Genki, Nobu, Takeo, Saburo, Sango!” a pause “ _fuck he’s head medic now isn’t he,_ I know you have injuries. See Kanzaki Osamu and Mizumori Haru immediately, I refuse to lose anyone else today.”

A glance to see who Kanzaki Osamu is. ~~_Because that's my father's clan name. He’s father’s family. Her family._~~ Sees a short man, with sharp bronze hair and eyes the colour of fire opals, a grim look on his face and wearing the white coat of a medic. Feels, ~~_Hears_~~ , _Ocean-Worn-Rocks-and-the-Crashing-of-Waves_ , wonders if her father’s was similar. She resolves to speak with him later.

“Taiyo, Ran, Nari and Amaya, head down to the beach and prepare the seals for the pyres. We’ll bring the dead to you.” More grief, making her chakra heavy. No longer _Lightning-in-the-Water-and-Thunder-on-the-Waves_ but _A-Gathering-Storm-on-the-Verge-of-Rain-and-a-Still-and-Quiet-Sea_. Uzushio hadn’t been nearly as big as Konoha, but more than eight hundred people had still called it home and only about a third of them had been able to evacuate before the barrier had fallen. There would be so many dead to gather

“The rest of you, start at the eastern edge and work your way west. Bring our dead down to the beach. Leave any enemy shinobi you find. Let them return to the earth and be dishonored. Daiton, you and Mamuro are in charge of gathering the ashes from the pyres to be placed in the lanterns. We’ll be using the larger ones for this.”

Karin watches. Watches as the people of Uzushio move to obey their Kage’s orders. Watches the sea of color around her splits. Reds and oranges, bronzes and blacks, pale blues and lavender. So different from the dull browns she had seen in Kusa. She doesn't stick out here. Their chakra is heavy with grief and the weight of it threatens to drown her. Smothering her own _Embers-in-the-Night-and-Wind-in-the-Trees._ Makes her miss her mother and _Leaves-Dancing-Though-her-Hair-and-Wind-Through-the-Valley._

As the rest of the people in the square disperse to their task, Arashikage-sama approaches her and Ezume. Who hasn’t left her side since she found him. Who is still clinging to his hand, even as his eyes follow the Jonin commander with lavender hair. “Right, what’s your name ya?” She is asked.

“Uzumaki Karin.” She answers. “I’m nine.” She pauses, fights against the grief she can feel in the chakras surrounding her. “My, my mother told me of the funeral rites before she died. I can help. I, I want to help.”

Arashikage-sama looks tired. There is a weight in her eyes. “No. We’ll handle the dead. If you really have your heart set on doing something though, you can help set out the lanterns ya. Daiton’ll show you which ones we’ll be using ya.” Karin nodes. She wishes she was allowed to do more but she remembers the body near the Tiger gate. Remembers, _too young, not much older than her_. Remembers, _thirty-seven years dead yet still looks like she just died ~~yesterday.~~_ A part of her understands.

She carefully makes her way to the east where the Dragon Gate stands open, overlooking the harbor and the wreckage of ships there. The sea calms her. Soothes the edges of her grief. She looks left, like her mother told her, and there she can see them. Eleven towering Obelisks. She will help, she will see the dead sent to a proper rest, their names remembered. _~~Not like mother, not like father. Left, forgotten, put in the Earth!~~ _

~~_I_ ~~

~~_Miss_ ~~

~~_Them._ ~~

~~_Give_ ~~

~~_Them_ ~~

~~_Back._ ~~

There is a low building near the Obelisks. Untouched by the invasion and protected further by the stasis seal. Within are scrolls filled with hundreds of floating lanterns all carefully carved from Hashirama wood. On the surface is carved the shape of a spiral which would be filled with the ashes of the dead. Surrounding the spiral was sealing script designed to not only keep the ashes in place but the lantern burning while it slowly sunk beneath the waves. At the spiral's heart lay another spiral, Uzushio’s spiral. Every time a child was born to the village or someone decided to settle down, a new one was carved. One for every person who called Uzushio _Home_.

It takes almost all of four long, draining days to gather all the dead. And by the end of the fourth day, the dead have all been burned and their ashes gathered. Tired and laden heavy with grief, she gathers to help set up the lanterns on the beach. It's hard, her eyes are blurry with tears that she doesn’t even try to fight back. She had heard the total number of dead and the knowledge sits heavy in her heart. Five hundred and ninety-seven dead. Two thirds of Uzushio’s total population. She takes solace in the fact that hers is not the only broken, shattered family. She wants her mother back. ~~_She wants her father._ ~~

Karin helps to set out lanterns. Softly tracing the carved wood. Counting each one as it is laid out. Normally there would be one for each of the dead but there are too many this time, instead they use lanterns designed to carry the ashes of fifty people. She watches as Jonin commander Uzumaki Daiton, and Ishikawa Mamuro, carefully spread the ashes in the spiral of the lanterns one by one. At dawn of the fifth day, when all of the dead are burned and their ashes set into a lantern, they will hold the funeral rites. The lanterns will be lit and set out to sea with the outgoing tide. The dead will finally be set to rest. Returned to Fire and Sea. Their names carved into the Obelisks so that they will always be remembered.

“My father, your grandfather, told me stories of Uzushio. Stories that I now pass on to you. One of these stories was of an Uzushio funeral. He said it was a sight to see.” Her mother speaks softly one night and Karin has to strain to hear. Her mother, who has never spoken to her of her grandfather before. 

“You see, all other villages have solemn ceremonies after which they bury their dead. Not in Uzushio. There, the bodies of the dead are burned down to ash before the ceremony even begins. No, in Uzushio, a funeral is a time of remembrance.” It had been late. A quiet night, not long before they arrived in Kusa when her mother had sat down and told her how the dead of their clan were remembered. 

“It begins at dawn or dusk, when the sun has painted both sea and sky with every color of Uzushio. From our fiery red to the bronze of your father’s clan. The lanterns are sent out to sea as the tide pulls away from the shore. Lights on the sea, guiding the souls of the dead to the Pure Lands.” There was a far away look in her mother’s eyes and she can’t help but wonder if her grandfather was ever given back to Fire and Sea. _She hopes he was. But in her heart she doesn’t believe it._

“Once the lanterns are set on the water, the naming begins. The living kin or close friends of the deceased will speak their name and one thing they held dear about them. At the same time, the Arashikage will carve their name into one of the Obelisks. This calls the ghost of the dead to their lantern. Never speak the names of the dead who have not been sent to their rest Karin, lest their soul never be able to find their way to the Pure Lands.”

Dawn comes early and with it, the funeral. Karin slowly joins the others at the shore. Ezume is once again clutching her hand with one of his own. In his other he holds onto his cousin. His parents are among the dead. They will be sent to rest along with the others. ~~_Her parents never were!_ ~~

Twelve large lanterns sit waiting on the shore. The ashes of more than five hundred between them. At Arashikage-sama’s signal, Hino Taiyo steps forward and with a small burst of chakra _Sun-in-the-Sky-at-Noon-and-Roar-of-a-Burning-Fire_ he lights a flame in his palm. One by one he lights the lanterns. Her breath catches at the sight amidst the early dawn light. One member from each of the clans step forwards. Hoshikawa Minori reluctantly letting go of Ezume’s hand. ~~_They are clan heads now, there is no one else, let there still be others out there._~~ Carefully they move the lanterns into the sea, just past the surf and with a series of swift hand seals and a burst of chakra _Blood-on-the-water-and-wailing-in-the-wind,_ a gentle breeze is created, pushing them further out to sea. She then follows Arashikage-sama and the others towards the Obelisks. She is beginning to understand what her mother, ~~_her grandfather_~~ ~~,~~ had meant. _It’s not cold and impersonal like her mother’s funeral._ _ ~~They will not be buried!~~_

It is the Arashikage’s duty to add names to the Obelisks and there are _so many_ names to add. Arashikage-sama, Uzumaki Yukino she has learned, cuts her thumb and unseals a set of plain chisels. There is no decoration on them, there is not meant to be. These tools had been used since before Uzushio’s founding to engrave the names of the dead. Uncarved to remind them of the ugliness of death. Simple to remind them that death comes for us all. Unmarked save for the seals which will allow them to glide through stone, reminding them that the dead are all of one clan.

It takes until well into the night to carefully carve the names of the dead. One by one they are spoken. Stories are told and happier times are remembered. The names and lives ringing out across the sea. Calling their ghost to them as their name is carved and the smoke drifting from the funeral lantern guides them to the Pure Lands.

“What were their names ya?” Arashikage-sama is looking at her. In her hands are two of the standard sized lanterns. There are no ashes in their spirals but there is no doubt in Karin as to who they are for. “What were the names of your parents ya?” 

Her breath catches and she has to fight back the tears that threaten to spill out. _She has been crying for four days, how does she have any tears left._ Her father, left behind while protecting their escape, his body left where it fell. Her mother, buried in the _ground_ ~~_not even burned and given back to Fire!_~~ in Kusa. Here, they will be _remembered_. Their names written on the Obelisks, where they belonged. Here, next to the names of their kin.

“Uzumaki Yumi and Kanzaki Kishi. My mother who raised me, loved me. My father who died protecting us, who gave his life so that we would live.” She hadn’t spoken their names out loud in months. Hadn’t dared to invoke their ghosts less they never find their way to the Pure Lands. But now they will. There are no bodies, but a pair of lanterns still join the fleet being carried out by the tide. Their names have been carved and spoken and there is Fire and Sea to guide them to their rest. Finally, they are at peace.

Finally, surrounded by her kin, she allows herself to mourn.


	8. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one was a whole lot easier to write and I had a lot of fun with it.

_Old familiar faces_

_Everyone you meet_

_Following the ways of the land_

_Cobblestones and lanterns_

_Lining every street_

_Calling me to come home again_

Home Again by Blackmore’s Night 

**The Call**

With the dead laid to rest within the sea, there was one more task to be accomplished before rebuilding can truly begin. It is time for the rest of Uzushio’s children to return. It is time to call them _home._

Next to the Kage’s Hall stands a tall, twisting tower. The Tower of Song it is called. Built of gleaming white stone, it stands taller than any other building in Uzushio. Its roof stands open to the sea air save for 4 columns carved and painted to reflect Uzushio’s gates. Facing the north gate is a column carved in the shape of small black painted turtles being tossed about amongst the waves. Small, polished black stones have been placed into the base to form the sea bed. 

Facing towards the harbour and the east gate, the column is carved into a blue painted dragon that is twisting its way through the sky as it winds its way around the column. The dragon’s scales are all carefully carved from pieces of lapis lazuli. They give the dragon the appearance of having stars in its scales that shine when the light hits them.

To the south, the column is carved into the shape of a large Hashirama tree. Amongst its verdant viridian leaves sits a flock of emerald painted birds with eyes made from beads of jade. 

The final column faces the western gate and is carved into the shape of two white tigers stalking each other through tall grass. Each of the tigers has flames carved of fire opal surrounding their paws and their eyes are made from pieces of yellow amber.

There is an ancient set of gleaming brass chimes that sits atop the Tower of Song. Arashikage-sama tells her that they were made long before Uzushio was built. Before the Uzumaki clan even came into being. That they were made during the days of the Great Sage of the Six Paths. The chimes themselves are inscribed with seals more complex and powerful than anything a modern day Uzumaki has ever been able to create.

“When they are played, when the chakra that we have sunk into the very foundation of Uzushio flows up and through them, they can be heard from anywhere on the continent. Their song will reach all of Uzushio’s children. It will ring in their hearts, and in their minds, their souls and they will _know_. Know that Uzushio stands once more. That it is finally time to return _Home._

Arashikage-sama makes her way to the top of the Tower of Song and the chimes. With her, she brings a short, thin stick of ancient, twisting, petrified wood. Carved down the length of it are elegant twisting seals each containing an Uzumaki spiral. Seals that Karin can not even begin to decipher. Within the dips and whirls of the seals themselves, Karin can make out a dried faded substance of rust red. It takes her a moment to realize that it is blood. Arashikage-sama slices part of her hand with a kunai and rubs her blood into the seals. As she does, they bloom with light and the feel of _Lightning-in-Water-and-Thunder-and-Waves._

With the seals now active, Arashikage-sama sets the stick to the first of the chimes. Everyone stops and _ohh, that's what she meant by song._ She can hear it, _feel it_ , with every part of her. It’s _Green-Fields-and-the-Sunlit-Sea_ . _A-Warm-Hearth-and-Soft-Gentle-Breeze_ . It’s _The-Feel-of-Home-and-Laughter-and-a-Mother’s-Warm-Embrace._ And it’s all _around_ her. Uzushio herself is _Singing_ as the chakra that had been sunk into her is drawn up through the tower, the tower that is now shining from previously unseen seals, and into the chimes.

Then Arashikage-sama begins to play and Karin _weeps_. She had felt a sense of family when she had undone the seal on the gates and found the survivors. Had felt a sense of relief as she was given a chance to properly mourn when her parents were finally laid to rest. But now? Now she finally feels a sense of _safety_ . A feeling that she hasn’t had since her father died, ~~_was murdered_ ~~, when she was two. When her mother and her were forced to run in order to survive.

Through eyes blurred by tears, she can see the other survivors have stopped their work on clearing debris and are just _listening_ . She can feel, _hear_ , their _grief-joy-love-safety_. Remembers that before Uzushio was sealed she had been under attack. Remembers that this is most likely the first time they have felt truly safe in what to them, was months.

Karin smiles. Then she laughs. Then she _Dances_ . Dances with the song that fills her with light and love. Dances in time to the ringing echo of the chime. A wordless song on her lips as one by one the others join in. She grabs Ezume's hands and the dance in circles, spinning around and around. The chimes ring out, a beautiful sound the likes of which she has never heard before, as Arashikage-sama plays. But it is the chakra laced song that fills every part of them. That fills their _hearts_ , their _souls_ . Which makes them _sing_ and _dance_ . Uzushio is Singing to her children and by _Sea and Sky_ they will sing along.

All across the Elemental Nations:

On a winding road in Taichi no Kuni, a group of merchants stand at the side of the round. A couple of the members of the caravan have stopped. Heads covered in bright red hair are turned south east and there are tears streaming down their faces. Elsewhere, a small family of Iwa shinobi begin to pack their bags as they prepare for the long journey _home._

A mother and two daughters travel along the edge of Kaze no Kuni. Their lavender hair dances in the wind and pale yellow, star shaped eyes shine as they sing along to a wordless song. Their course remains the same. They will meet up with other family members first. After that, who are they to deny the call?

At a forge in Tetsu no Kuni, a blacksmith quenches a red hot blade in water. He steps back into the shadows which dance against his skin, and just listens. He will have to let his customers know that he won't be taking on any more orders. Once the current ones are done, he and his family will be going _home_.

Deep in the heart of Amegakura. A painfully thin man with faded red hair turns east in wonderment. He had thought he was the last. That his clan was _dead_ and _gone_ . That he was _alone_ . But he’s not. There is a song to the east. One he has never heard but it makes him long for simpler times. For Yahiko’s presence at his side. For the days when they dreamed of _peace_. It reminds him of the fact that he had to _bury_ his parents _in the ground ~~in earth and not fire~~_. Hadn’t been able to cremate them the way that they had taught him.

But then he remembers Ame, the village that is his now. His to run. His to guide. His to protect. There is a call but he can not answer. Maybe if Yahiko was still alive he might have followed it but now he has a duty. A duty to Ame. A duty to force peace upon the nations so that never again will that place ~~_home_~~ fall. Though, perhaps he can keep a piece of it. Perhaps they will agree to an alliance if nothing else.

On the shores of Yu no Kuni, a woman with blue hair sets a roughly carved lantern into the outgoing tide. Her heart is heavy despite the song that fills it. Her grandfather, who had passed away not but two days before, would never hear the call. Never have a chance to see his home again. They would carry his name with them and ask for it to be added to the Obelisks. That way, even in death, a part of him would return home.

In a run down, grungy apartment in Konoha, sits a young academy student with sunshine hair. He is curled in a ball sobbing as the song rings through him. Finally. For the first time in his short life he truly understands what it means to be loved. For the song tells him ‘It's time to come home. You are _Family_ , you are _Clan_ and it’s time to come _Home’_

Across the village another academy student stares up at her parents asking them what the song she hears is. Learning for the first time of her heritage. Learning the name of her grandmother’s clan, Uzumaki. The name of her grandfather’s clan, Hoshikawa. And she thinks of the boy in her class. The one who has no one and thinks, ‘ _he is family_ ’. Perhaps tomorrow she will try and make a new friend.

All across the continent, people are turning east and south. It’s hard to hear at first. It starts slow. But it builds. There is a song in their _souls,_ in their _hearts_ , in their _heads_ . It is calling them. Calling them _Home_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get our first glimpse of a certain ray of sunshine in this chapter
> 
> I had three different options of how I was going to do the call and let me just say, I am so glad I choose this one. I had a lot of fun with it.


	9. Power of a Kage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone whos been commenting. Your words are a highlight of my day.

**Power of a Kage**

With the Song sent out. With Uzushio’s children called home and the Song still ringing in their bones, they turn their attention to the barrier that once protected Uzushio. In order to reactivate it, they must first rebuild the wall which had been damaged by summons during the attack. Once the wall was rebuilt they would then have to re-carve the seals that had been destroyed or were unusable. 

In total there were ten seals that made up the seal matrix for the barrier. Nine seal points in the grid lay around the outer wall with the tenth point being an anchor point located in the middle of the central square. Karin is able to study one of the undamaged seals during her lunch break one day. It’s not like the seal that was on the gates.Try as she might she’s not able to decipher it. The most she can tell about it is that it is a six point seal with two mirrored spirals that are separated by two cancel lines and a line of intricate seal script. Surrounding the whole thing is a circle of seal script, including two lock scripts on mirrored sides. Unfortunately three of the nine seals that had been on the wall were destroyed or damaged in the attack.

In order to reactivate the barrier they must first repair the original seal matrix which had been carved into the walls very stone. Before that they must repair the wall, filling in the holes and strengthening the weakened sections. Carefully moving the rubble to the side and creating two piles, one of larger pieces, one of smaller. The pile of larger rubble was so that Ishikawa Mamuro could reshape them into new bricks. Stone flowing and becoming as malleable as clay in his hands. A skill that belonged to the Ishikawa clan, echoing similar to the Senju clans mokuton. Karin learns it is called Doken, stone fist.

They begin with clearing away the debris from the wall. It made Karin wonder what kind of attack could have brought the barrier down. Her mother had told her that it had been made by the Shodaime Arashikage and every Arashikage after had added their own additions to the seal. Had told her that it was fueled by the very chakra that was sunk into Uzushio’s foundation and every clan head added to that pool of chakra when they took the title. _Ten new clan heads would add their chakra to Uzushio._ _~~Ten heads of too small clans, please let there be more. lease let others hear the call and come home. ~~_

Secondly, they begin widening and squaring off the holes so that the new wall will better join with the old one. Those who have earth natured chakra use doton jutsu to bind the bricks in place. Karin helps dig clay from the edge of the river. Learns from Hino Taiyo-san how to stand on the surface of the water in order to better spot the good deposits. How to shift her chakra with the flow of the tide. She watches as small binding and strengthening seals are carefully drawn in the still wet clay as it’s laid between the bricks.

It takes them a month to rebuild the wall. To reach the point where they can reactivate the barrier seals and with it, Uzushio’s barrier. A long month before the old seals have been carefully re-carved into the wall. But it is ready. Ready for the seals to be activated. To make it so that the returning survivors will be protected while the village is rebuilt. They would not see Uzushio would not fall a second time. 

It’s during this month that the first survivors begin to arrive. Karin is surrounded by _Joy-Love-Relief-Welcome-Home_ against her own chakra as newcomers are greeted. She can feel, ~~_hear_ ~~ ~~,~~ Uzushio singing as she welcomes the first of her children home. They tell of hearing the Song. A call that came but a few days too late for one of them. A sorrow filled request for a new name to be added to the obelisks. They tell of their journey, of the boat they bought in Nami no Kuni. Of seeing Uzushio for the first time and Karin can’t help but remember her first sight of the shining city

It’s Mizumori Amaya, Haru and Urano who’s chakra rings the brightest with joy at their arrival, and with deep grief at the news of the passing of a grandfather. Their clan has gone from three people to eleven in a single day. Amongst the returned survivors is a boy her own age. Karin learns his name is Mizumori Akira. She hopes they can be genin together.

There is an old tradition. Going back to before the founding of the village. Overtime, the role which had once belonged to the clan heads, now falls to the Arashikage. Upon their inauguration, when they swear to defend the village with all that they have, all that they are, they add their own additions to the seals on the walls. Strengthening the barrier that protects the village. Adding their chakra to it. Allowing their strength to mix with the strength of the previous Arashikages. Allowing the barrier to grow with the village. And once the wall is repaired, the Yondaime Arashikage would be no different.

All of Uzushio gathers in the central square before the Kage’s Hall. Karin stands with her fellow Uzumaki, one speck of red in a sea of fire. They form a circle around the edge, behind them sits the pedestals that carry the names of the previous Arashikages. Arashikage Yukino-sama stands before a smooth obsidian slab set into the ground in the center of the square. 

Arashikage-sama fixes the new seal in her mind. The one that had taken her weeks to design. The one that added a six point linked star matrix to the six point dual spiral seal that already existed. An addition designed to increase both the strength of the seal as well as its stability by spreading out the points it drew its power from. She imprints it into her chakra and holds it there, ready. Nine long chains, ink black at the ends and flowing as though they were made of water, shoot from her wrists towards the walls where the new barrier seals are now carved deep into the stone. 

Nine points. Nine seal anchors. A sun bright pulse of chakra, the chains sparking with lightning, as the seals on the walls are linked to her chakra. She brings her hands down to the slab beneath her and the seal work that is invisible against the black stone. A second pulse of chakra and elegant and complex sealing script is added to the slab. A third and final pulse of chakra, this one linking the seal matrix with Uzushio’s chakra. As the final pulse fades, the barrier begins to rise. Slowly at first, then faster still.

The wind and sea go still. Silence blankets the village, and Karin is reminded of when she first arrived. As the barrier rises, she can feel, ~~_hear,_ ~~ Uzushio respond. Feel the sudden rush of power. Hears the moment sound comes rushing back all at once as the barrier finishes. Once the barrier is complete, Arashikage-sama collapses. One of the medics checks on her. Chakra exhaustion. Kage level Uzumaki reserves were almost depleted to reactivate the barrier.

Karin wonders how much of Arashikage-samas chakra was in the seal and how much was from Uzushio. The initial seal had been crafted by Shodaime Arashikage Uzumaki Arashi-sama and when Kageno Hitoshi-sama and Ishikawa Genki-sama had added their additions and chakra, the base amount of chakra the seal demanded had increased. Arashikage Yukino-sama had almost drained Kage level Uzumaki reserves to reactivate it but she had.

She focuses and she can feel it now, the chakra that had been sunk into the seals by the previous Arashikages. Can feel, ~~_hear_ , ~~ _Far-off-Storm-and-Howling-Wind_ , _Lurking-in-Shadows-for-Prey-and-Footfalls-on-Autumn-Leaves_ , and _Shifting-Stones-Underfoot-and-the-Tap-of-Wood-on-Rock_ . She can feel when they are joined by _Lightning-in-the-Water-and-Thunder-on-the-Waves_ from Arashikage Yukino-sama _._ Joined by _Home-Hearth-Family-Laughter_ as the chakra sunk into Uzushio flows into the seals and makes them _shine_.

She had been told that kages were powerful. That they were the strongest in their village. She feels the sheer ocean chakra that made up the barrier. Remembers the fact that it was activated by just one person. She starts to understand. This is the power of a Kage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any that are wondering, I figured I give a over view of my current update schedule. My current goal is to update every week on the weekend. This means you can generally expect a new chapter on either Sat, Sun or Mon.


	10. Arrivial Home

**Arrival Home**

The Mizumori family are only the first to return. It’s not even a sennight before the next group arrives. Uzumakis this time and something in Karin calms, reassured that more of her family has survived. The Uzumaki clan grows from Thirteen to eighteen. 

With the barrier in place, focus shifts to clearing out some of the training fields. With Uzushio’s children returning, they need a place to stay until homes can be rebuilt. The stasis seal had preserved the shops and goods throughout the village. Food is gathered, tents are set up clothing passed out to those that need it. She is given a few basic outfits and a simple white kimono with purple flowers she is told are called Traveler’s Joys.

Karin seeks out Hoshikawa Minori-san. 

“I’m a sensor” She tells her. 

“How can I help those who are returning?” She asks.

“A sensor?” Hoshikawa-san smiles. It's bright and she can sense the interest in her chakra. “How far is your range? If you can let us know when people are arriving and how many there are it would be a great help.”

“I can do that. My range covers the island.” A part of her would prefer to help clear rubble or help with the rebuilding but she understands how knowing ahead of time how many new arrivals would help. 

Hoshikawa-san grins and ruffles her hair. “I’ll ask Ezume-kun if he wants to help you by acting as a runner. Once you sense someone, have him come tell either me, Yu-chan or Dai-kun. Ahh, sorry, Arashikage-sama and Daiton-san. Old habit.” Hoshikawa-san straightens and moves to track down her young cousin. “When people arrive, make sure to welcome them home and direct them towards the training field ok? Thanks for the help kiddo.”

Karin changes into the kimono she was given. Folding it carefully across her front. As she does, her eyes land on a thin wooden box amongst her pack.  _ Her grandmother’s hair pins.  _ She wars with herself for a long moment as to whether she should wear them. In the end, she steals her resolve and carefully takes them out of the box. She fumbles a little, getting them in place. Mother had shown her how to twist her hair up and use the pins to hold it in place but it's been months since she last did so and her hands are out of practice. Eventually she gets them in place. They’re a little lopsided but Karin doesn’t think they look too bad.

As she makes her way towards the Tiger gate a hand catches her wrist. She catches a glimpse of a white coat and the feeling of  _ Ocean-Worn-Rocks-and-the-Crashing-of-Waves _ as she turns. It’s Kanzaki Osamu-san who has stopped her. His gaze isn’t focused on her however, but rather on the pins in her hair. His chakra is a roiling mass of hope and grief, neither of which show on his face.

“Where did you get those.” It’s less of a question and more of a demand. Karin can sense a flicker of anger underneath the grief. “Where. Did. You. Get. Those.”

“Okaa-san said that they were my grandmother’s. That when she died she left them to my father to be passed to any daughter he might have.” She wonders then if he knew her grandmother. She knew he was  _ clan, _ but maybe he was closer than she had at first assumed.

“Your grandmother” and there is emotion in his voice now. “What was her name.”

“Okaa-san said her name was Kanzaki Rin. That I was partly named after her.” As she says the name, he releases her and takes a step back. Grief on his normally stoic face.

“She made it out. She survived.” He pauses and really looks at her. Takes in her Kanzaki red eyes and the shape of her face. She can feel the way his chakra shifts. Going from grief to surprise to disbelief. She wonders what it is that he sees.

“You knew her. She wasn’t just a clanmate was she?” The first comes out more as a statement, the second as a question. She wants to know how she’s related to this man. Before she arrived at Uzushio, before the seal broke, she had believed herself to be alone. Even now, she had clanmates and they were family but they were most likely distant cousins at most.

“She was my wife.” Four simple words, uttered in a quiet voice so soft she barely heard it. A voice full of grief and heartbreak. A realization that Kanzaki Osamu wasn’t just  _ clan _ , wasn’t just some granduncle. He was her  _ Grandfather. _

She was so focused on that fact that she almost missed what he said next. “Those hair pins were my wedding gift to her.” She couldn’t stop herself from gently touching the hair pins. All she had left of a grandmother she had never met. And yet, they had led her to find the only remaining  _ family _ she had left. A grandfather in the form of a man who couldn’t be more than twenty five years of age.

“Grandfather” The word comes out as nothing more than a whisper but gets her a shaky smile.

“Seems like it.” His eyes seem drawn to her hair. A wary looking flickering briefly through them but settling more deeply into his chakra. “What are you called?” Because somehow, this is his granddaughter and  _ damn it, he is far too young to be a grandparent  _ ~~_ but it's been thirty-seven years hasn’t it and Rin, his beloved Rin is dead. _ ~~

“Karin.” She tells him. “Uzumaki Karin.” He goes still at her clan name. Exasperation fills his chakra even as he glances skyward.

“Uzumaki, of all the clans, you had to also be an Uzumaki.”

Karin spends the majority of the remainder of the day speaking with her new grandfather. Learns that the Kanzaki clan and the Uzumaki clan don’t generally get along. The Kanzaki preferring to rely on their minds and logic to act rationally where the Uzumaki rely on their hearts and instincts to react to events. She learns about her grandmother and great grandparents. She learns about her grandfather. When she asks about Arashikage-sama’s reaction to him being head medic, he tells her about their rivalry going back to their academy days. She tells him what little she knows about her father. Tells him about the son he never met.  ~~_ Never knew he had. _ ~~

By the time she makes her way to the Tiger gate, the sun is close to setting and her heart feels lighter. When she had sought out Uzushio in the beginning she had hoped to find items left behind by her clan or signs of where any survivors might have gone. Instead she had found a village frozen in time and more family then she had ever dreamed of surviving. Even now, as she stretched out her senses she could feel the barest hints of people making their way  _ Home. _

The next day she gathered Ezume and together, dressed in simple kimonos, they went down to the Tiger gate to greet the newest arrivals. Karin smiles so wide her cheeks hurt. “Welcome home.” She tells them before she directs Ezume to lead them to the makeshift camp set up in the training grounds.

On the third day, Mizumori Akira joins her along with his little brother, Riku. They keep her and Ezume company. Riku begs to be allowed to carry messages like Ezume and Karin can’t help but agree. By the end of the first month since the barrier had been restored, Karin has gained a whole gaggle of helpers. They take turns running off to find either Arashikage-sama or one of the jonin commanders whenever someone new enters her range.

Rebuilding begins. As more and more people arrive, _ return _ , the work goes faster. She counts them as they arrive. Some travel alone, others in groups of two and three. Others still arrive in groups as big as twenty or thirty. By the end of the second month, she has counted over three hundred survivors. Karin set out to visit a dead village and instead, only a few months later she is surrounded by one glowing with  _ Life. _


	11. Rebuilding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The building of Uzushio begins and we learn a little about how Uzushio handles orphans.

**Rebuilding**

As more and more people return to Uzushio, rebuilding begins in earnest. Their first goal is to get the apartment buildings, both within the clan compounds and without, ready so that people have somewhere to live until more permanent homes can be established. They begin by clearing out the rubble. Chunks of stone, wood and glass. Twisted pieces of metal and shattered bits of ceramic. Anything that can be salvaged is set aside. Stones are brought to members of the Ishikawa clan to be reshaped. Metal and glass to the Hino clan to be reworked in one of the still standing forges. Shinobi work by clearing out the heavier pieces, chakra strengthening their bodies and allowing them to clear out pieces of rubble bigger than a horse.

Amongst those returning there are a variety of craftsmen. Builders who can tell which buildings can be saved and which ones are too badly damaged and must be pulled down. Carpenters who could shape new pieces of wood to take the place of old ones. Plumbers to check the water system to insure that the village would still have running water. Blacksmiths and metal works to work the forges which burn bright with the flames of the Hino clan.

While the rubble was being cleared, some attention was turned towards the various shops. For most of the shops that had been undamaged in the attack, ownership would pass to either the descendants of the original owner or default to the owner’s clan. The goods within the stores were preserved along with the rest of the village. For the stores that did not have any owners, descendants nor clan to claim them, their stock was gone through by merchants to determine what can be sold and what will go into the village's stores. They start going through to see what can be salvaged. Separating everything by type and evaluating its worth. Much of it will go into the village stores to be used to support the people of Uzushio until they can get themselves established.

Perishables are stored in containers inked with preserving seals. Karin is able to get a glimpse of them on one of the days she isn’t at the gate. Their structure reminds her of much more simplified version one from the gates. She notices that most members of the Uzumaki clan have taken to wearing a belt that holds what looks like a pot of ink, a few brushes and a small scroll. When one of them goes to draw a new preservation seal, they simply take a brush and dip it into the ink pot before drawing the seal. She wonders where she is able to get one of the belts. When she asks, Karin learns that they are given to those who have proven themselves adept enough at seals to be trusted to write them on the fly, a skill that Karin has yet to reach.

Bolts of fine cloth are set aside to be sold by the merchants. Lower quality cloth is brought to the semesters to be made into various items that the people will need. Karin spends part of a day learning how to mend simple tears. Clothing and bedding is put into a pile to be distributed once the apartments are ready. What isn’t used will be placed in storage to be used during future disasters.

Books from the shops are moved into the library which has been thankfully spared from the destruction. Papers and inks are set aside for administration work, seal work or for the academy.

Buildings that can not be reclaimed by clan or kin and have no use by the village are stripped down to be converted for a different use. They are then sealed with strong preserving seals so that they will not decay until a use can be found for them.

During this, meal times quickly become one of Karin’s favorite times of day. With enough food in the village to feed a population more than double their current one, there is only so much that can be placed under seals. As a result, meals, dinner in particular, have become times to show off various family recipes. For clan members to teach or reteach each other the dishes that were passed down through their family. A time for members of different clans and families to try different dishes. Karin learns how to make Uzumaki style ramen for the first time. ~~_It’s better than any ramen she’s ever had before_ ~~. She gets to try Hino barbeque and Hoshikawa deserts. She learns to make hot pot in the Kanzaki style, the dish well balanced, nutritious and so very, very tasty. Karin learns that meals are a time of family and community. That the most common time to visit a friend's house is during a meal. Karin has a small notebook, it held the few recipes her mother had taught her. Now it’s almost full to bursting.

When Karin had first arrived she had been expecting that she would be given a small apartment of her own within the Uzumaki clan compound or be placed in an orphanage. When she found out she had a grandfather, she had been hoping that she might stay with family but she had counted on the fact. When Osamu shows up to collect her and her things once an apartment is ready for them, a part of her relaxes. When she asks him why he was so easily willing to take in a granddaughter he had only just met, she learns something new.

“For all that Uzushio’s clans have their differences. For all that we might occasionally disagree. There has always been one thing that we have all held to and that is that family matters first.” He tells her as they make their way to their new home. 

“You will come to learn that Uzushio does not have orphanages. If a child does not have parents or adult siblings, they are taken in by other members of their clan. If a child does not have a clan, then a clan steps up to foster them. To give them a home and family. If, when they reach adulthood, they decide that they want to become an official member of that clan, they are officially adopted and a seal is placed on their wrist that allows them to use the chakra natures of that clan.” He goes quiet for a long moment. A contemplative look forming on his face before he rolls up his left sleeve. There, in elegant twisting script, is a complex seal. Karin can not even begin to understand but she understands what he is saying by showing it to her.

“If the fostered child chooses not to become an official member of the clan, then they part ways but will always be considered family by the clan and be welcomed as such. If they don’t have a family name of their own at this time, they are given the family name of Namiyo, meaning wave man, if they are a man and Namiko, meaning child of the waves, if they are a woman.” It warms Karin to know that even if she hadn’t found her grandfather, she would still not have been left alone. A place would have always been found for her. She is smiling, bright and wide, when they arrive at their apartment in the Kanzaki complex, its buildings in neat, organized rows. The gate is marked by the Kanzaki clan’s symbol, a four pointed star under a simplified Tori gate.

With the rebuilding under way, Arashikage-sama began sending out occasional patrols. Pairs of jonin level shinobi were sent out to scout the Uzu no Kuni. To get a feeling of the changes in the land and to see the borders might have shifted. To make sure that no one has yet noticed that Uzushio is being rebuilt. That they won't be attacked while they are still regaining their strength. It is during one of these patrols that shinobi from Konoha are spotted. A celebration is held that day. For on the backs of the Konoha flak jackets, sitting clear as day, was the Uzushio spiral. Konoha had not forgotten them, nor the bond that they had shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things you don't expect to have to ask yourself when writing a fanfic: What do I do with the stock from shops from a while village that's been in stasis when only about a third of it can be claimed? The answer, clan politics.


	12. Road to Shinobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karin's journey through the academy and the beginning of her genin days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a little late. It turned out there was a lot more to say than I had initially anticipated. As a result, this chapter is more than double the length of my next longest.

**Road to Shinobi**

Karin stared blankly at the chalkboard in front of the classroom. Of all the things she had expected once they had made significant headway into the rebuilding, being placed into an academy class with the rest of the children her age was not one of them. She had been so focused on helping rebuild, on wanting to see Uzushio returned to her former glory that she hadn’t stopped to think what next. And so she had been caught by surprise when, a week ago, Osamu-ojiisan had informed her that the academy was starting up as he handed her her enrollment form.

And so, here she was. Sitting in a classroom with twenty other children her age and skill level while Namiko San-sensei went over the accelerated curriculum for their class. From basic academic classes such as history, geography, math and writing. To the shinobi focused classes of weapons training, taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, stealth training, trap making, first aid, and . San-sensei tells them that no matter what clan taijutsu style they might know, they will all be learning the village’s Chukuken, hollow fist, style. Tells them that they will be learning to make a basic mizu bushin. When Karin asks about the standard bushin, San-sensei tells her that members of the Uzumaki clan have too much chakra to learn the standard bushin without first learning pinpoint control.

It is odd to be in a classroom. All of Karin’s past education had been whatever her mother could teach her while they were on the road. History in the form of stories around the campfire, math problems and writing practice done in the loose dirt. Katas were done in the early morning and after dinner. Chakra meditation was done before bed when her energy had been spent and she had finally been able to sit still for long periods of time. When they had stopped for lunch or were in town for more than a day, they worked on weapon practice. Seal work had been done just before dinner, before the light had fully faded from the sky.

Now, she had structured lessons with other students. History came in the form of a thick textbook of which she could only understand about half the words. Math was done on worksheets and turning out to be far more complex than she had first believed. Weapon training was much the same as it had been before, though now she was learning how to throw more than just kunai and shuriken. Katas were done in groups and she learns that it was far easier to spar against someone her own size. 

Her evenings are spent splitting her time between the Uzumaki and Kanzaki clan compounds. From Uzumaki Ran-sensei, she learns the clan’s Rasenken, _spiral fist._ She finally begins to learn more about sealing and how to better use her chakra chains. From Osuam-ojiisan she learns the Kanzaki clan’s Kishiken, _shore fist_ . Learns that she has inherited the Kanzaki kekkei genkai. Learns that if she allows someone to bite her, she can use her chakra to heal them. She isn’t sure how she feels about it. Can’t forget how her mother died, the feeling of _Leaves-Dancing-Though-her-Hair-and-Wind-Through-the-Valley_ fading into _nothing,_ ~~_not a scrap of what was once an ocean of chakra was left, just emptiness._ ~~ Can’t forget sitting in their hotel room working on her kanji as she feels her mother’s chakra _dwindle_ and _vanish_ . She never wants to feel that again. Never again wants to feel someone's chakra become nothing but an empty _void_ where they once were. ~~_Is terrified of it happening to her, of it happening to Osamu-ojiisan who is also a Iryo-nin. She never wants to lose someone that way again._ ~~

Namiko-sensei tells them they will be graduating at the end of the year and placed on genin teams. That Uzushio was low on shinobi and if the rest of the world was to learn of their survival before they were ready, they would need all the man power they could get. A part of Karin thought they would have longer to graduate. They have 10 months to graduation and a hard road ahead of them.

Month 1

The days following Namiko-sensei’s first lecture are spent taking tests. “These tests are to gauge your skill level and tell us what areas you will need to focus on more than others.” San-sensei tells them. 

Math tests, reading comprehension tests, writing tests, taijutsu, chakra manipulation, weapon handling. Karin goes home each day tired with her brain feeling fried. She knows she failed at least half of them. Her writing isn’t the best, there was never much chance to practice while on the road. Though at least geography was easy because of those years spent travelling with her mother. She and the kids from merchant families did the best on that one.

Once the tests are finished they are given a day off before training begins in earnest. The first thing Namiko-sensei does is split them into groups of three and have each group occupy a desk. She’s thankful when she is paired with Akira-kun, at least there is one person in her class who she knows. The other member of their group is Yukimura Kikyo.

“Genin teams are made up of three genin level shinobi and a jounin sensei. Every month you will be rotated to a different group. The purpose of this is to get you used to working in these teams of three as well as to foster stronger bonds with your fellow shinobi. Once you graduate you will have already learned to rely on each other, support each other, and trust each other.”

They start learning more geography, using reports brought in from patrols or merchants and using them to compare how the world has changed. They begin to learn the shinobi code, learn that Uzushio’s code is different from the code used by other villages.

Karin’s hand hurts from writing so much, her kanji still shaky and almost illegible. The last half of each day is spent on physical conditioning. They are made to run lap after lap around the training field. To go through flexibility exercises. Her body aches from stumbling through the beginning katas of Chukuken. She falls more often than not. Struggling to get a hang of the smooth, solid motions after so many years learning the spiraling steps of the Uzumaki’s Rasenken. She learns how to better hold and throw kunai and shuriken.

Month 2

The second month starts with a balance exercise. A small stream branches off from the river and flows through the academy grounds. Going across it are a set of eight wooden logs. The task is to make it across the stream without falling in. They will be doing this exercise every day until they make it across. Once they do, they will move onto the next level, crossing the small, floating platforms that go across the Shinanai-Kawa river. At least Karin has already learned water walking, though she still falls in the water more often than not.

The beginning of the second month is also where their groups change. She says goodbye to Akira-kun and Kikyo-chan as she joins Kageno Toko and Ishikawa Ryuken at their new table. Karin hopes that she will get to be in a group with her friends again, but is also glad for the chance to make new friends.

It is also where they begin learning Uzushio hand signs. Learning how to communicate silently. How to recognize a signal out of the corner of their eye. Namiko-sensei warns them that some time in the future they will spend a week when they will only be allowed to communicate using hand signs. Karin adds it to her list of evening training exercises. It will take her a while to get used to bending her fingers into the right shapes.

Month 3

At the beginning of the third month they are warned that they will need to decide on an initial specialization to pursue by the end of the week. A list is written on the chalkboard. From leadership to infiltration, from interigation to assassination. Nin, tai and genjutsu. Iyronin to poisons. Her next group is made up of Hino Mai and Kubo Mina. She learns that Mai plans to be a ninjutsu specialist and that Mina wants to be an Iryo-nin. Meanwhile, Karin struggles to decide. A part of her wants to be a Iryo-nin like her mother had been, like her grandfather was. A larger part is screaming, _not like mother! Never again! I don’t want to die like that!_

She spends the entirety of the week trying to decide. Trying to bring herself to put Iryo-nin down. Trying to ignore the nightmares that keep waking her. Memories of sitting on the floor of the cramped hotel room practicing her kanji, trying to ignore the way her mother’s chakra is dwindling. Ignoring the way the fierce wind that is her mother’s presence has been reduced to barely enough breath to flicker a candle. Ignores it because surely Kusa will make mother stop before it gets too bad. _Surely_ Kusa will let her rest. _Surely_ Kusa needs every skilled Iryo-nin they can get.

_And_

_Then_

_The_

_Wind_

_~~Stops~~ _

She can’t feel ~~_hear_~~ her mother anymore. She is off the floor and out the door before she can even begin to think. Pounding down the street towards the hospital in a frantic rush. In her dreams ~~_nightmares_~~ she’s not fast enough. In her dreams ~~_nightmares_~~ her mother is dead by the time she gets there. In her dreams she never gets to say _goodbye._

In the end, she can’t bring herself to choose Iryo-nin. In the end she chooses fuinjutsu and sabotage as her specialization. Chooses to focus on her chakra sense and using it to find and keep track of targets. Chooses trap making. Figures she can use fuinjutsu to improve her traps. After all, she is an Uzumaki.

Month 4

With her specialization chosen, her training shifts. She focuses more on stealth, trap setting and code breaking. Her newest group is made up of Kanzaki Eri, who also has the Kanzaki kekkei genkai and has decided to pursue iryo-jutsu, and Uzumaki Gin, who is planning on becoming a taijutsu specialist. Once she has the basic katas for Chukuken down, she is allowed to stop as she is also learning her clan styles at home.

Moving from group to group each month has allowed her to make more friends then she had expected. That's not to say she gets along with everyone. She clashes a lot with Eri-san and is starting to understand what Osamu-ojiisan meant about Kanzaki and Uzumaki not getting along. Their group is always fighting. Gin-kun is always angry at Eri-san, always yelling to try and make up for the fact that Eri-san prefers calm logic to passionate declarations. She wonders if she might have been the same if she wasn’t part Kanzaki herself, if she wasn’t living with Osamu-ojiisan.

The puzzles and small tests that groups now have to complete every week don’t help. Though, she does enjoy trying to break the coded messages and Eri-san is great at the riddles. Even Gin-kun has his strengths in how fast he can spot the subtle differences in the classroom each day.

Month 5

Ame is Gin's twin sister and between her and Gon, the three of them get into so much trouble. They introduce her to the Uzumaki art of pranking. Karin can’t help the gleam that appears in her eyes when it dawns on her that pranks are excellent training at trap setting. Osamu-ojiisan is less amused when she sets up a paint trap above the kitchen door. She’s forbidden from setting traps in the kitchen after that.

One day she decides to drag Toko into her pranks. She distracts Ame-chan and Gin-kun while Toko cloaks himself in shadows in order to sneak up on them. Watching them startle when he smacks their desk sends her and most of the class into fits of laughter. Maybe if she sells it as further stealth and infiltration training, Toko-kun will help her with more pranks.

Their fifth month at the academy is also the point when Karin is finally able to cross the river platforms without falling in.

Month 6

They finally get to learn how to walk on walls with chakra. Her group mates this time are Kurosaki Yuzu and Umino Kuina. Yuzu-chan, who tells her to just call her Yu-chan, takes to it like an Uzumaki to water. Karin learns that it’s because Yu-chan has smaller chakra reserves than most of them, that it grants her greater control. Karin puts a hole in the wall the first time she tries. It’s a lot harder than water walking which had come naturally despite the fire nature of her chakra.

Once they master wall walking, those who don’t know water walking are taught how. Taijutsu classes and sparring matches are soon moved to waters of the harbor. Some of them take to ignoring the bridges and just walking across the river. After the academy lets out, some of them will go down to the harbor and play kunai tag out on the water. Osamu-ojiisan doesn’t say anything when she comes home injured from being tagged. When she asks, he tells her that it was a common game and even his class had played on the harbor in much the same way.

Month 7

They’re given paper made from Hashirama trees halfway through their seventh month.

“The paper you have just been given is chakra conductive. We will be using it to determine what your elemental affinities are.” Namiko-sensei lectures. “To begin, push a small amount of chakra into the paper. You will be able to tell what your element is based on how the paper reacts. If it turns soggy and damp, your nature is water. If it crinkles and crumples up, you have lightning natured chakra. Wind causes it to split in half and fire will of course make it burn. Finally, if it turns to dust, your chakra nature is earth.”

It’s no surprise to Karin when her paper burns at the edges. She knows the feel of her chakra. Knows it’s fire by the way it's warm and bright and comforting like the light of a campfire. The chakra natures of her classmates don’t surprise her either for the most part, though Tokos chakra has always had a more shadowy nature to it that overpowers the earthen part of his chakra to her senses. Kikyos is another that takes her by surprise. Her chakra is _A-Frigid-Arctic-Wind-and-the-Crackling-of-Ice_ so she had been expecting dual natured wind and water. Instead, her paper is covered in a thin layer of ice. She learns that it's a result of the Yukimura kekkei genkai, hyoton. 

Month 8

Namiko-sensei lied about them only having to communicate with only hand signs for a week. Instead, they spend all of the eighth month writing in code or communication with quick flicks of their fingers. Ame-chan decides to put their classes in Ikebana and Hanakotoba to use and starts writing only in flower names or by drawing out arrangements on paper. This of course, forces all the boys in the class to take a crash course in Ikebana and Hanakotoba as the classes had been primarily for the Kunoichi of the class.

Toko, Izumi Kana and her decided to create their own unique code for their group. They subtly altered some kanji by adding a small mark in order to represent or allude to other things. Fire came to mean water and the sky meant the earth. Anger meant joy and home came to mean travelling. They took to using it whenever they wanted to pass notes in class.

Everyone sees the barn owl the size of a large dog leave the Kage’s Hall and head due west towards Konoha. A scroll clutched in armored talons.

Month 9

Their ninth month in the academy brought with it survival training. For days at a time they were led into the woods on the western side of the island, left on a rowboat a day’s journey from shore and once they were taken to the mainland and told to make their way back on their own. Their groups hadn’t changed this month so Karin was once again with Toko and Kana. Both of them have experience with travelling and when combined with her own experience of travelling alone after her mother’s death, they don’t have too much trouble with the first few exercises. 

The survival training only gets harder though. After the first few times, Namiko-sensei brings in more chunin to hairy them, stealing supplies, ransacking their camps. Taking up the roles of bandits and enemy shinobi. They take to building in shaded areas where Toko can bend the shadows to hide them further. Fuinjutsu begin to ring their campsites, replicating the effects of genjutsu designed to cause peoples gaze to slide past their camp.

Karin remembers the journey from Kusa to Uzushio. Remembers the fear whenever she had hid in the trees as bandits had passed by underneath her. Remembers the fear of shinobi bounding through the branches as she cowered amongst the roots, praying they wouldn’t notice her. The fear lessens every time Namiko-sensei or any of the other chunin walk past their campsite without sparing it more than a passing, appraising glance.

Month 10

Her group hasn’t changed this month either. She is still in a group with Kana and Toko. Namiko-sensei is pushing them harder than ever. They have only a single month until graduation and Karin doesn’t feel like she is anywhere near ready. She knows she has to be though. Uzushio needs shinobi. Needs her strength back so Karin throws herself into her training. Studies her textbooks until the pages blur and her head feels like cotton. Runs laps around the village until she’s gasping for breath and her legs feel like jello.

Her classmates do the same. Driven by a love for this village that they have helped to rebuild with their own hands. Driven by a love for their families and clans who all have civilian members that will need their protection. The training field is never empty as the day of the final exams creep closer and closer.

Finally the day is upon them. Their final exam as academy students. Karin is nervous and terrified. She doesn’t feel prepared. Is worried she will disappoint Namiko-sensei, disappoint her clans, disappoint Osamu-ojiisan.

The day starts with the written exams. Math, history, shinobi law and others. They spend their morning at their desks. The only sound is the scratch of pencils against paper. After the written portion, they are given a half hour for lunch before the physical part begins in the afternoon. Taijutsu, weapon throwing, endurance. By the end of the exams, She feels like she is about to collapse. The final section is the jutsu portion. They have to create five bushin of their choice, henge into Namiko-sensei and then swap places with a specific marked log.

Karin and the rest of her class pass their graduation exam. It’s not easy, not by a long shot. She still has some trouble with larger words and her kanji aren’t always legible and she swears she got half the history problems wrong, though she thinks she did well in math. Her katas are shaky and she kept slipping into the wrong stance, the wrong taijutsu style. Her weapon throws were solid though and she got top marks on trap setting. Her mizu bushin are solid and she is able to do a passable henge of Namiko-sensei though her Kawarimi jutsu was a little off, she had switched with the wrong log. But she makes it in the end. A Hitai-ate carved with the spiral of Uzushio sits tied around her forehead by an elegant black and white cloth. 

The day after graduation, Namiko-sensei is not alone at the front of the classroom. There are seven jounin standing there with them. She recognizes some of them. Recognizes Kubo Sabaro and Kageno Hisana from that first day. Recognizes Ishikawa Mamuro from when she was helping rebuild the wall. Recognizes Hino Taiyo who had taught her how to walk on the top of water more than a year ago now. Recognizes Uzumaki Daiton, one of Arashikage-sama’s jonin commanders. She doesn’t recognize the other two, only knows from their bright red hair that they are Uzumakis.

“Congratulations on graduating. Of being the first graduating class after thirty-eight years. You are now genin of Uzushio. Wear those Hitai-ate with pride, serve our village, our home, with pride.” Namiko-sensei smiles, pride radiating from their voice. “Behind me stand your jounin senseis. As you are all aware you will be assigned to a three man cell under one of them.”

“Team one under Kubo Sabaro is Mizumori Akira, Yukimura Kikyo and Kubo Mina. Team 2 under Uzumaki Daiton is Uzumaki Gin, Uzumaki Ame and Kanzaki Eri. Team 3 under Hino Taiyo is Izumi Kana, Kageno Toko and Uzumaki Karin. Team 4 under Ishikawa Mamuro is Higurashi Mako, Hino Daichi and Izumi Shouta. Team 5 under Uzumaki Nari is Kurosaki Yuzu, Ishikawa Ryuken and Kageno Mari. Team 6 under Kageno Hisana is Uzumaki Yui, Kubo Hana and Hino Mai. And finally, Team 7 under Uzumaki Chiyo is Umino Kuina, Uzumaki Gon and Kawaguchi Toshi.” As San-sensei lists off each of the team, their jounin sensei steps forward to collect them. Karin realizes that those are the same groups they have been placed in for the past three months. Realizes that those months have been about building teamwork skills in the background.

When her team is called, Karin stands and follows Taiyo-sensei out of the academy, through the village to a set of large smooth rocks on the banks of the river. They each claim a rock, settling into place on top of it. As she does, Karin takes in her team’s appearances, from Kana-chan’s long, braided white hair and soft brown eyes to Toko-kuns short cut raven dark hair and haunting emerald eyes. Sees the way Taiyo-sensei keeps her long burnt orange hair up in a bun and how her orange colored eyes are hidden behind a pair of thin glasses.

Her teammates are Izumi Kana and Kageno Toko. They had been assigned to team 3 with Hino Taiyo as their jounin instructor. She focused on their chakras against her own. Memorizing the feel _sound_ so that she would always be able to find them again. Memorizes Kana-chan’s _Still-Pond-in-the-Moonlight-and-Ripples-on-the-Shore_ . Memorizes Toko-kun’s _Eyes-Watching-From-the-Shadows-and-Laughter-under-Moonlight_ . Memorizes Taiyo-sensei's _Sun-in-the-Sky-at-Noon-and-Roar-of-a-Burning-Fire._ Feels the way they brush against her own _Embers-in-the-Night-and-Wind-in-the-Trees._ There is something soothing about the way Kana-chan’s water based chakra feels or the way Toko-kun’s odd shadowy chakra coils around the edges of her and Taiyo-sensei’s fire based chakras.

As Karin is cataloguing her sensei and teammates, Taiyo-sensei is watching them from her place on her rock.

“You’ve spent the last ten months training in the academy together, introduce each other to me.” Taiyo-sensei’s request startles them but when she thinks about it, it makes sense. Their team is designed for information gathering with her as a tracker and fuinjutsu user, Toko-kun for infiltration and Kana-chan as the team's defense. She shares a long look with her teammates as they try and decide who goes first. Toko-kun tilts his head towards her, indication that he will introduce her.

“My teammate is Uzumaki Karin of the Uzumaki and Kanzaki clans. She is a chakra sensor who specializes in trap setting and tracking. Her favorite food is pork ramen, her favorite colour is white and her glasses are a keepsake of her late father. She currently lives with her grandfather, Head medic Kanzaki Osamu-sama and her dream is to track down the man who murdered her father.” Toko’s introduction of her was short and to the point. Drawn out in a smooth monotone. He had even tossed in a lie to throw off Taiyo-sensei.

“Hmm, not bad. Who’s next?”

Karin takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders and begins. “This is Izumi Kana. She likes water lilies and swimming. She despises wearing dresses and skirts because she has trouble fighting in them. She is the front liner ninjutsu specialist of the team and her job will be to watch Toko-kun and I’s backs. Her dream is to find and sign the coyote contract.” She had followed Toko-kun’s lead and tossed in another lie, though this one was slightly bigger than what her favorite color was.

“Lastly, your up kid.”

“So, our third teammate is Kageno Toko. He’s a member of the Kageno clan and can do really cool stealthy things with shadows. One time, I could have sworn he had been hiding in the shadows in the hallway but when the bell for class rang, he was suddenly in his seat. I have no idea how he’s so sneaky all the time. This other time he made Gin-kun and Ame-chan jump so high. They were sitting at their desk, just chatting away and Toko-kun just walks up and slams his hand down on their desk with a loud WHAM! It was so funny, I almost died laughing. Another time...” Kana-chan doesn’t even pause to take a breath. She just keeps rambling on and on about Toko-kun until Taiyo-sensei makes her stop.

“I think I get the picture kid.” There is a look in Taiyo-sensei’s eyes that tells them that she knew full well what they were doing. “Onto the hard part. You’ve passed the academy graduation exam but now you have to pass my exam..”

“What do you mean!” Kana-chan exclaims as her hand reaches for where her Hitai-ate is attached to her belt.

“What I mean is that a team’s jounin sensei is the one with final say as to whether you become shinobi or not. The academy exam proves you have the basic skills needed to be a genin. My exam will prove you have what it takes to excel as a genin. That you have not only the skill, but the maturity, wisdom and strength you will need as a genin of Uzushio.” Taiyo-sensei leaned forward and clasped her hands together. 

“So this is how it's going to work. This team is an infiltration and sabotage team so what you’re going to do is find a place to hide and build a saboteurs nest. You will have 1 hour before I come find you. If you are able to successfully hide from me actively searching for more than 15 minutes, you pass.”

“Good luck kids.” With that, Taiyo-sensei stood and disappeared in a brief swirl of fog. 

The three of them turned to each other. 

“We need somewhere in the shade where I can pull the shadows in to better hide us.”

“I started learning water manipulation under Kaa-san recently, somewhere near the water would be better.”

“Water isn’t going to be much use at hiding us. Sensei didn’t say we had to stay in the village, we should find somewhere near the cliffs.”

As Toko and Kana argued, Karin glanced at their surroundings. Take in the shade of the bridge and the alleyways between the buildings.

“Under the water in the reeds” She eyed a cluster of twisting plant life in the river, her mind already going over the seal matrix they would need to make an air bubble. Her fuinjutsu lessons with Ran-sensei going through her head. Kana and Toko turned to look at her, their eyes widening as they processed her suggestion.

“I can move the water out of our way if you can anchor the resulting air bubble to the river bed with your seals.” Kana was already moving to stand on the water, looking for a place that was both shaded enough and deep enough to suit their needs.

Toko was quick to follow her. “I can draw the shadows more to better hide us but it will work better if we start with a place that’s already pretty shaded.”

“I’ll get started on the fuinjutsu matrix to anchor the air bubble as well as filter out old air and in new air. I don’t want to suffocate or die from carbon monoxide poisoning during my genin exam.” Karin unsealed her fuinjutsu supplies and got to work running the calculations and laying out the basis for the seal matrix.

It takes more than half an hour for Karin to have a working fuinjutsu matrix. She twists T _he King who Sits in the Heavens_ together with _The Lord of the Depths_ before linking them to _The Bear of the Great Shield._ Calculates volume and air consumption rates for three teenagers at rest. Adds in _They Who Walk in Two Worlds_ and _Wind Upon Which the Eagle Flies_ to the filter seal. Linking and looping together lines of seal script around the Uzumaki spiral. In that time, Kana has slowly moved the water away to create the air bubble in such a way as to not disturb the reeds and weeds they were trying to hide under. She jumps down to the river bed and begins tracing the seal in the muck as Kana closes the bubble and Toko begins shifting the shadows so that they are almost completely unseen from the surface.

By the time their hour is up, Karin has just finished inking a temporary chakra cloaking seal on their skin to help hide them should Taiyo-sensei be a sensor. With the hour up, they sit back and wait. They just have to last 15 minutes. 15 minutes and they pass. 15 minutes and they are officially shinobi of Uzushio.

Karin tracks where Taiyo-sensei is. Tracks the flicker of _Sun-in-the-Sky-at-Noon-and-Roar-of-a-Burning-Fire_ as she moves around the village. Counts the minutes as they pass. 

1 minute as Taiyo-sensei investigates around the edges of the village. 

2 minutes as she stalks up and down alleys looking for them 

3 minutes, Taiyo-sensei stops at the Uzumaki ramen stand. 

6 minutes and Taiyo-sensei is bounding across the rooftops. 

8 minutes, Taiyo-sensei stops at the academy, checks their old classroom... 

13 minutes as Taiyo-sensei checks for genjutsu around the rocks she had left them at.

At 14 minutes she signals for the others to hold their breath when she feels ~~_hears_~~ Taiyo-sensei checking under the bridge just up river.

15 minutes as the face of a giant blue-spotted salamander appears at the edge of their air bubble. _They made it_.

They take down their saboteur nest, carefully breaking the seals and emerge from the river. The salamander has taken up a spot at Taiyo-sensei’s feet.

“Well done. That was clever, inventive and well executed. Not many people will look for you under the water like that. Had Koto here not spotted you, it might have taken me even longer to find you.” There is pride in Taiyo-sensei’s eyes even as their faces begin to break into brilliant smiles.

“Congratulations. You passed. Team 3 are now official shinobi of Uzushiogakure no Sota.”


End file.
